Lower Mainland homes see 15 per cent drop in affordability: report

Homes in the Lower Mainland are slipping further and further out of reach, according to VanCity report released Tuesday.

The report compared median household income – $79,498 for Greater Vancouver – with housing prices for apartments, townhouses and detached homes to determine how much of a household’s income goes towards mortgages, property taxes and maintenance. It found that on average, homes in the Lower Mainland were 15 per cent less affordable in 2017 than they were in 2016.

The District of North Vancouver, Delta and the Township of Langley saw the biggest drop in affordability at 37.5 per cent, 31 per cent and 29.3 per cent, respectively. The average home costs $855,000 in Delta and $625,000 in Langley Township

White Rock saw a slight increase of 0.9 per cent in affordability but homeowners in the community still spend 40.9 per cent of their income on house costs. In Delta, homeowners spend 58.1 per cent of their income on house-related costs and in Langley Township, they spend 42.5 per cent.

On the better end of the scale, a home in Langley City only cost the average resident 18.4 per cent of their income. Chilliwack, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows and Port Coquitlam homeowners also got off easy: they each spend less than one-third of their income on house-related costs.

Abbotsford residents spend 34.6 per cent of their incomes on housing costs while Surrey and Mission residents spend 37 per cent and Maple Ridge residents spend 39.4 per cent.